With the agenda now confirmed, these are the sessions likely to set the tone for where the US digital infrastructure market stands heading into the final quarter of the year.
The event follows a spring edition that set out several of the themes returning this September, including six trends reshaping data centres, fibre and towers as outlined by Greg Williams.
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Are today’s networks fit for an inference-led world? Metro Connect Fall Stage, 2 September
The event’s opening keynote panel brings together Dave Schaeffer (Cogent Communications), Dan Davis (Arcadian Infracom) and Maneesh Gauba (Oracle) to address whether existing network architecture can handle inference-driven traffic patterns. The panel sets up a theme that recurs across the three days: infrastructure built for a different era of demand.
At the spring edition, the CEO panel argued that fibre discipline will define the AI era, and Marc Ganzi’s keynote made the case that AI monetisation hinges on industrialisation. Both are worth revisiting ahead of September’s discussion.
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Is the consolidation wave accelerating? Metro Connect Fall Stage, 3 September
Searchlight Capital, Safanad and Novacap take the stage for the M&A panel, a question that has shadowed the fibre sector through much of 2026. Expect discussion of deal pricing, buyer appetite and whether smaller operators can still hold out against consolidation pressure.
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From hype to hook-up: making nuclear real for AI-scale data centres Datacloud USA Stage, 3 September
A keynote panel featuring Oklo’s Brian Gitt and Constellation’s Bob Kinscherf tackles the gap between nuclear power’s promise for AI infrastructure and the commercial and regulatory reality of getting reactors connected. Given how often nuclear is raised as a solution to the power bottleneck, this is one to test that narrative against.
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Overcoming NIMBYism and expediting permitting Town Hall, 3 September
Chaired by Ilissa Miller, with EnergiAcres, Flypower and QTS represented, this Town Hall gives community opposition to data centre development its own dedicated slot rather than treating it as background noise. It’s a directly relevant session for our ongoing Central Texas coverage, including our reporting on how data centres could use 2.7% of Texas’s water by 2030, and worth watching for how operators frame the trust and transparency problem.
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Before the Build: designing data centres for AI scale, density and change, 2 September
EdgeConneX, Nvidia and Edged Data Centers speakers argue that most of what determines a facility’s ability to scale is decided before construction starts. A useful counterpoint to the sessions on fast construction, this one is about getting the design right first.
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Fast-track delivery: constructing data centres at scale and pace Datacloud USA Stage, 2 September
Crusoe, AMD and STACK Infrastructure speakers examine how operators are compressing build timelines to meet hyperscale demand. Read alongside session five, the two panels frame the same tension from opposite ends: speed versus design discipline.
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How is digital infrastructure ABS evolving, and what can we learn from recent deals? Metro Connect Fall Stage, 3 September
A Kirkland & Ellis-chaired panel with DataBank and Moelis & Company looks at how asset-backed securitisation is being used to finance infrastructure at scale, a financing route that has grown quickly but attracted less trade press attention than equity or debt deals.
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Data centers in space: the next frontier? Datacloud USA Stage, 2 September
A fireside chat with Sophia Space’s Rob DeMillo pushes into more speculative territory, orbital data centres, but reflects a theme gaining traction adjacent to the NTN and satellite space Capacity already tracks closely.
Full agenda: https://metroconnectfall.com/agenda
RELATED STORIES
- Marc Ganzi at Metro Connect 2026: AI monetisation hinges on industrialisation
- Metro Connect 2026: CEOs argue fibre discipline will define the AI era
- Data centres could use 2.7% of Texas’s water by 2030, where they land matters
- Metro Connect 2026: Greg Williams’ six trends reshaping data centres, fibre and towers
